Chapter 74: A Fair Bet

[Chapter 74: A Fair Bet]

Outside Los Angeles, in a luxurious mansion at Chandler Estate.

Within the lavish living room of the estate,

Deryl Chandler sat on the sofa by the fireplace. He was a moderately handsome middle-aged man with a well-groomed appearance, exuding a certain charm.

At that moment, his expression was somber. "I won't agree to this bet. The Los Angeles Times is our foundation, and no matter how tempting it may be, we can't risk our foundation."

"Deryl, you're too timid; that's why you can't grow the Times any further. Father shouldn't have handed the Times over to you!"

Leaning against the bar in the living room, Danny Chandler scoffed while sipping white wine and puffing on a cigar.

The founder of the Los Angeles Times was George Chandler. He had two sons and a daughter: the eldest son, Danny Chandler; the younger son, Alec Chandler; and the daughter, Isadora Chandler. All of them were disappointments in their own right.

Deryl Chandler was George Chandler's son-in-law. He had defeated two brothers-in-law to gain control over the Times and lead its growth, ultimately making it one of the most powerful newspaper companies in the country.

"How can you say I didn't strengthen the Times?"

The issue was that, despite holding the chairman position, he didn't own sufficient shares. In such matters, the chairman's title was useless; it was the equity that spoke.

Deryl Chandler said helplessly, "I just want to remind you of one thing: the bet was proposed by Ian Carr, which shows he has confidence. Considering his recent performance, he's quite adept at uncovering major stories, and his bet involves daily sales exceeding ours... I think he might actually pull it off."

Danny Chandler scoffed again, "Of course he's confident, but news exposure does not equate to sales! Deryl, you know the newspaper industry isn't like the Internet. Growth requires not just good content, but enough channels as well. The channels and customer habits developed by the Los Angeles Times over decades can't easily be replaced."

Deryl Chandler immediately responded, "But he can expand his channels."

If there was going to be a bet, it wouldn't come without conditions. For instance, he couldn't drop prices indiscriminately to corner the market because winning a bet that way wouldn't be fair.

Yet, they couldn't restrict channel expansion. He couldn't just stop growing his business to settle a bet!

Ezriel added, "The channels are already saturated. Ian Carr can't just expand at will. In reality, even if the U.S. were hit by an atomic bomb, the Los Angeles Herald's sales wouldn't surpass ours; he needs the foundation of those channels! If his channel did improve to threaten us, I have ways to counter that."

Deryl Chandler asked, "What ways?"

"We could acquire sensational news from fellow publishers."

Deryl Chandler understood. Without adequate channels, the Los Angeles Herald couldn't defeat the Times based solely on a few sensational stories.

Sure, they could expand their channels, but the Times could buy news from competitors at high prices, defeating quality with quantity -- effectively undercutting their competition. Greedy competitors would surely take a bite out of the Times.

Theoretically, that strategy could protect the Times. As for Ian Carr, he couldn't afford to operate at that level; he didn't even have enough connections.

He was growing too fast, causing many competitors to be wary of him. They would rather watch Ian fail than support him -- people were willing to collaborate with the strong, but only when they didn't feel threatened by them.

Ian Carr had instilled caution in many of his competitors. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't defeat all of them united against him.

Still, Deryl Chandler did not like taking bets! It was a cautious instinct built over years of experience.

Deryl Chandler pondered, then said, "The rules don't allow for irregular operations. If DuPont Group doesn't agree, we can't proceed with this."

Though DuPont Group held only 30% of the shares, meaning they generally lacked voting power, the rights of shareholders still existed.

Acquiring sensational news from competitors would cause financial losses and wouldn't be deemed legitimate by DuPont Group. If that group was unwilling, they could sue, causing the bet to fail... The bet had to be legal and couldn't come at the expense of normal profits; if internal shareholders brought a lawsuit, it would confirm the bet was rigged, leading to inevitable defeat.

Ezriel smiled, "I can persuade them."

Deryl Chandler asked, "What does your father think?"

Isadora Chandler answered, "He thinks it's acceptable."

Deryl Chandler looked helplessly at his two brothers-in-law, his wife, and Ezriel.

Greed and excitement flashed in their eyes.

Everyone leaned towards acceptance...

Greed and pressure were the greatest dual motivators for taking risks.

Deryl Chandler sighed helplessly, "Since you all have made your decisions, why even ask for my opinion?"

...

In Wilmington, Delaware,

Today at the DuPont Group's headquarters, a very special guest arrived: Gaskill.

The old man smiled as he looked at everyone, his voice gentle. "Ian Carr is the finest young man I've ever met. I'm sure you've all heard of his brilliance and legend, so I won't say much more."

He gazed around, his expression calm and confident:

"If Ian Carr were to take charge of the Los Angeles Times, he would develop it even better. I trust none of you doubt this."

All the board members nodded in unison.

Ian Carr's reputation far exceeded that of the Los Angeles Herald, so no one doubted his capability -- except the Chandler family.

Gaskill continued, "Therefore, my proposal is simple: let them have a fair bet. If he loses, he'll be a shooting star. If he wins, he will lead the Times to greater glory and provide all of you with more substantial profits."

One board member remarked, "But we've been partners with the Times for a long time and don't know much about Ian Carr."

Gaskill smiled, "What you need to understand isn't who Ian Carr is personally, but rather his abilities... The Chandler family has no right to jeopardize shareholders' interests for their own gain. Besides, even if they win, they won't turn the Herald over to you. In this bet, you won't receive anything beneficial, but it could diminish the Times' profits, possibly leading to the Chandler family acquiring the Herald while the Times' income for 2001 turns into a loss, which would affect you as well."

Everyone nodded in agreement; this was true.

Another board member said, "We can have the Chandler family compensate us."

Gaskill countered, "How much can they compensate? The Chandler family doesn't have that kind of money, and without enough funds, they can't win against Ian Carr. And even if they could come up with a hundred million, would that be enough for you? Do you want a hundred million, or do you want a company of higher quality under the leadership of a media genius?"

Everyone understood this reasoning and fell silent again.

Yet another board member said, "But we are friends with George Chandler!"

Gaskill tossed out another chip: "Lino Bank would be very willing to lend to fine enterprises like DuPont."

All the board members laughed together.

Finally, the chairman of DuPont Group laughed heartily, "This is great! The bet should take place in a fair and reasonable environment. DuPont's role is to maintain that fairness; I see this as very appropriate!"

Gaskill smiled, "Then, it's a pleasure to cooperate."

"Pleasure to cooperate!"

*****

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